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The NEONS (North East Oklahoma N-Scalers) nearly finished with a multi-year project to rebuild, update and
authenticate our twenty-year-old diorama depicting the railroad tracks running across the north side of downtown
Tulsa, Oklahoma. Part of the original diorama was featured in the
May/June 2003 issue of N-Scale Railroading Magazine.
The re-work project was to transfer five 4'modules to three 8' modules, adding a 4' portion that was omitted
before. New features are the Denver Street underpass and the de-compression of some tracks into the formerly
missing 4' stretch. By modifying these modules from 4'ers to 8'ers, we eliminated a large number of connector
tracks which has resulted in easier setup and smoother running. This 3-year project was completed in stages,
with the track work, wiring and ballasting completed first, then the buildings were transferred to the new modules
with some being rebuilt to better match their prototype, and finally, the remaining scenery was completed.
This historically accurate, 24' diorama depicts the north side of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma circa 1957. Included
on the modules from left to right (East to West) are the Tulsa interlocking where tracks from four railroads
all crossed and inter-connected, the Frisco Freight building, the 1930's art deco Tulsa Union Depot with the Main Street overpass, the Railway Express Agency facilities, and the Denver underpass. You are looking south and downtown Tulsa sky-scrapers like the National Bank of Tulsa and Philtower (the office building Waite Phillips of Phillips 66 Oil Company gave to the Boy Scouts of America) would be just behind the skyboard of these modules.
Old photographs from the archives of the Tulsa World and Tulsa Tribune (the local morning and afternoon newspapers)
were utilized along with numerous photos from private files to determine how the north side of downtown Tulsa
appeared during this time frame. Sanborn maps and old documents from the Frisco railroad archives provided details
on track geometry.
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